Sonnet 7
When nature made her chiefe worke, Stella’s eyes,In collour blacke, why wrapt she beames so bright?Would she in beamy blacke like Painter wise,Frame daintiest lustre mixte of shades of light?Or did she els that sober hewe devise,In object best, to strength and knitt our sighteLeast if no vaile these brave gleames did disguise,They Sun-like should more dazell than delight.Or would she her miraculous power shewe,That whereas blacke seemes Beauties contrarie,Shee even in blacke doth make all Beauties flowerBoth so and thus; she minding Love should beePlaste ever there, gave him this mourning weede:To honour all their deathes, which for her bleede.
Words in this poem
- beamy a.
- Emitting beams of light; radiant; shining.
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- hewe n.
- A domestic servant; a retainer. [Cf. Hind a peasant.]
- knitt v. t.
- To form into a knot, or into knots; to tie together, as cord; to fasten by tying. [OE. knitten, knutten, As. cnyttan, fr. cnotta knot; akin to Icel. kn, Sw. knyta, Dan. knytte. See Knot.]
- whereas adv.
- At which place; where.
- minding n.
- Regard; mindfulness.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 7 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sir P.S.: His Astrophel and Stella Wherein the excellence of sweete poesie is concluded, Project Gutenberg ebook #56375; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Philip Sidney, Sonnet 7, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-7.html, id L04763.
Form and metre
Sonnet 7 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABABAB----CC eyesA · brightB · wiseA · lightB · deviseA · sighteB · disguiseA · delightB · shewe · contrarie · flower · bee · weedeC · bleedeC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When nature made her chiefe worke, Stella’s eyes, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| In collour blacke, why wrapt she beames so bright? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Would she in beamy blacke like Painter wise, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Frame daintiest lustre mixte of shades of light? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Or did she els that sober hewe devise, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| In object best, to strength and knitt our sighte | 10 | ·˘/·····/· |
| Least if no vaile these brave gleames did disguise, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| They Sun-like should more dazell than delight. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Or would she her miraculous power shewe, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘/· |
| That whereas blacke seemes Beauties contrarie, | 10 | ·˘/··/˘··· |
| Shee even in blacke doth make all Beauties flower | 11 | ·/·····/˘/˘ |
| Both so and thus; she minding Love should bee | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Plaste ever there, gave him this mourning weede: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To honour all their deathes, which for her bleede. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.